Perchance To Dream
by Poison Rose
Summary: Anakin Skywalker died the day Vader was born. Or did he? Is there some part of him left? Summary may change with time, first Star Wars fic!
1. Chapter 1

**Perchance To Dream**

**Disclaimer**: George Lucas owns Star Wars. I own this story. No profit is being made, sadly.

**Summary:** Anakin Skywalker is dead; all that remains is Darth Vader. But is that really true?

**A/N**: My first attempt at writing Star Wars fiction. I'm not sure how it's going to come out, but I thought I'd give it a shot.:)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The first thing he notices is the cold.

It seeps through the floor, through the walls and is ever present in the air of the dark room.

He hates the cold.

Padme had been the first person to notice it.

_You come from a warm planet Ani. A bit too warm for my tastes._

The warmth from that memory relaxes him a bit, even against the chill.

Padme.

It's been years since he's last seen her, since he's begun his training.

Frowning, he struggles to sit up and opens blue eyes in the darkness of the room.

_Where am I?_

He finds it odd that he's been laying awake for at least five minutes and this is the first time that question's crossed his mind.

A bit of fear enters his mind as he tries to get a sense of his surroundings using the Force.

He gets absolutely nothing.

Now that _is_ reason to worry.

Breathing deeply, he tries to stand; only to realise that his legs feel unnaturally heavy and his head is slowly stating to spin. Belatedly, he notices that there's a faint medicinal smell in the room.

_Don't panic. Master Obi Wan says I panic too much._

Obi Wan.

The last thing he remembers is laughing at something his Master said... then this.

He's struggling to remember more, fighting against the drugs in the air when he hears something.

Sitting very still, he tries to concentrate.

Footsteps.

Getting closer.

He wants to get to his feet, to meet whatever is headed in his direction the way a Jedi should; on his feet, not lying on the floor.

But he can't move.

A door hisses open, directly in front of him and he shuts his eyes against the harsh glare of the light from outside.

There's a tense momment during which nothing happens.

Then he hears a noise he knows, but for the life of him he can't figure out what it is or where he's heard it before.

"Hello?"

He winces at how weak he sounds and at how he can't help but shiver. The cold has only increased since the door opened.

There's a figure standing in the doorway. It's tall and imposing and he doesn't like the way things are going.

_Where's Obi Wan?_

The figure speaks, galvanising him where he is on the floor.

"Anakin Skywalker."

He knows that voice. It's his voice.

He also places the sound.

It's breathing. His breathing. Loud and artificial sounding, but still his.

His heart rate increases. How does he know these things?

The figure in the doorway holds out a hand to him.

Unsure, he struggles to get to it.

When he clasps the hand, he starts screaming, and doesn't stop for quite some time.

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Ok, that was the first chapter. Let me know what you think, more should be on the way soon. Constructive criticism is always welcome; flames are not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Perchance to Dream**

**Disclaimer: **Star Wars belongs to George Lucas.

**Thanks so much to Sango for my first review!:)**

**KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK**

He's not sure how long he's been drifting in and out of consciousness.

It could be seconds, or it could be years.

Everything melts together... the images, the sounds, the voices of people he knows and doesn't know.

The laughter of his mother becomes the clash of light sabers becomes the soothing voice of Padme becomes the Emperor's sickly cackle...

The images pass by quickly, but not quickly enough.

He still sees each one with perfect clarity.

He curls into a fetal position and tries to shut his eyes to it all, but the images continously play behind his eyelids, and he's forced to watch every single one.

His mother's face as she died, Obi Wan's horror as he looked at him on Mustafar, the look on the face of each Youngling as he slaughtered them one by one...

He's terrified.

Terrified because he doesn't remember half of these horrors he's being forced to witness over and over again; terrified that this is happening at all and that he can't stop it.

And he still doesn't know where he is, or why he can't sense the Force.

Through the ever shifting sounds and scenes of his memory, one thing is pervasive; one thing is constant.

The all encompassing cold that grows with each second, each decade, each century that passes.

He didn't know it was possible to feel this cold, or to feel this alone.

_ppppppppppppp_

_"Please, help me. We don't have a lot of time."_

_"Are you insane? No, forget that question. Of course you are."_

_"We need to stop what's going on."_

_"Stop what's going... are you serious? The Jedi are all but gone!"_

_"I admit, the situation isn't as ideal as it could be, but..."_

_"Well, that's one way of looking at things."_

_"... but the fact remains that he is STILL the chosen one!"_

_"Perhaps you haven't been listening. He slaughtered the children! He's helping Palpatine cement his hold on the galaxy! Yoda TOLD you he was trouble!"_

_"Do you truly believe I don't know that?"_

_"Then how can you stand here and repeat the same-"_

_"Do what I ask. See for yourself."_

_"Qui Gon..."_

_"Please. If I'm wrong, you'll be able to tell immediately."_

_"Look, I want to believe you. I liked him too. But you Jedi are far too dependent on your prophecies. Look what he's done, for Force's sake!"_

_"He's been deceived by Palpatine's false promises. This isn't who was meant to become!"_

_"But this is who he is, Qui Gon. Darth Vader is evil, plain and simple."_

_"Nothing is that simple and you know it! I taught you that!"_

_"What proof do you have?"_

_"You know how to find out."_

_"... why me?"_

_"You know why."_

_"... fine. But I'm not making any promises."_

pppppppppppppppp

He's not sure how long after the images slow down and he's regained some of his ability to form coherant thoughts that he hears footsteps again.

He's curled up tightly in a ball on the floor, still shivering, and he flinches from the sound, remembering what happened the last time he heard footsteps and having no desire to go through that again.

The door start to slide open and he shrinks against the wall, shutting his eyes in anticipation of the blinding light in the corridor.

There is none.

Cracking open one eye, and trying to calm himself, he looks at the doorway.

Two figures are there this time; a man and a woman, their features obscured in the darkness.

They appear to be facing his direction, and a part of him flares in anger at being put on display.

_It's not fair._

They're speaking to each other, but the sound is muffled to his ears. He doesn't know if it's because of the drugs in his system, or if his captors did something to the room that causes that effect, but he knows that it's annoying.

As if sensing his mood, they stop talking.

One of them... the male... has a profile that's vaguely familiar, but in his state, he can't for the life of him figure out who it might be.

The woman's arms are folded, and she speaks again.

He gives up on the words, and tries to focus on the tone of her voice.

It's... kind?

Simultaneous with that knowledge comes the realisation that the room is getting warmer.

He body, tense for who knows how long, starts relaxing, fraction by fraction.

The smell of medicine is also starting to fade away, but slowly.

He can understand the woman's words now.

"Can you hear us?"

He nods, still wary.

Blue eyes try to focus on her face, but the room is still too dark.

"How old are you?"

_That's a weird question._

He opens his mouth to answer, but stops.

He can't remember.

_Oh no._

"I... I don't know."

And again, he hates the way his voice sounds when he admits it.

Looking into their faces, he feels that he can trust them.

"Where am I?"

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Okay, that was chapter two:) Constructive reviews are always welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

**Perchance to Dream**

**Disclaimer: George Lucas owns Star Wars.**

**A/N: It's a bit shorter than I wanted, but hopefully you still enjoy it:) And thanks for the reviews once again!**

**oooooooooooooo**

When he wakes up, it's to sunlight streaming through a window.

He just lies awake for a while, savoring the warmth that his body has lacked for so long.

He still doesn't know where he is, but that's okay, because he's with the woman and the man now and he's safe with them.

They'd carried him here and promised to explain everything in the morning.

He hadn't protested much; the recent ordeal had drained him.

He means to lie awake a bit longer, but the call of birds outside makes him frown.

_Birds?_

He'd assumed he was still somewhere on Coruscant.

Curiosity getting the better of him, and he walks over to the window, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He's not prepared for the sight that greets him.

_llllllllllllllllll_

She hears him moving around upstairs, and she sighs.

It's soon time.

Qui Gon has left for now, and she's still a bit on edge.

She's agreed to help, even though she knows the stakes.

She must be crazy. Only a crazy person would do this.

She'll be fortunate if she gets out of this aituation alive.

Walking over to the kitchen, she starts slicing fruit, while trying not to worry about what she knows lies ahead.

She knows he likes fruit, he told her so himself, years ago.

"Excuse me?"

She jumps, accidentally slicing a finger.

"Force, child! Are you trying scare me half to death?"

The sincerely sheepish expression in his blue eyes is enough to calm her nerves.

"It's okay, Ani. I didn't mean to snap."

Slowly, the finger heals itself, and she watches his expression of concentration closely.

He's sharp, as sharp as he ever was.

His eyes meet hers in what appears to be embarrassment when he senses she's caught him staring.

"You're... a Jedi?"

She resists the urge to laugh ironically, toning it down to a brief smile.

"Why would you think that?"

He looks puzzled for a moment.

"You healed yourself."

"Mmmm."

"Master Obi Wan took me to see the Healers once. I don't remember seeing you."

She did laugh now, this time with genuine amusement.

"You've been to the Healers more times than you remember, young Skywalker. Seems you've got quite a penchant for getting into trouble."

_More than any of them realised._

Something in her voice catches his attention and she waits patiently.

She wants to see what conclusions he'll reach on his own.

His eyes are sharp now, scanning the room.

"How did we get to Naboo? Where's Master Obi Wan?"

Taking a deep breath, she gestures to the table and levitates a bowl of fruit in his direction.

"We're not on Naboo, Anakin." she says gently.

He freezes.

She walks slowly towards towards him, floor length dark blue robes swishing as she moves.

She lays a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You looked outside. What did you see?"

A moment of indecision crosses his face and she studies him.

He's not as young as he was when they first met, nor as old as he was when she last saw him. She puts his age at roughly fourteen standard.

He's getting some height on him, but she's still a few inches taller than he is, at least for now.

Who knows how long it'll be before he reaches where he once was?

He's answering her now, though, and she turns her attention to his words.

"I saw... I can't explain it. It's Naboo; it's Tatooine. There are pieces of Coruscant, and... alot of different places I've gone to with Master Obi Wan."

She nods at him, gently encouraging.

"Go on."

"There's a place far away... I had to squint to see it. It's all dark, and red... it looks like a volcano."

"Mustafar," she says uncomfortably,

_This is going to be harder than I thought. Qui Gon, you owe me._

"Where am I? I don't even know your name."

Stalling, she runs a hand through the unruly auburn waves of her hair.

"I'm sorry Ani. You can call me Zen."

She sees his eyes narrow at her wording, but mercifully, he doesn't press it.

Looking outside, he seems to be considering.

"This place... it's artificial, isn't it?"

Her lips quirk upward briefly.

"Well, I guess that depends on how you look at it. It's real because it exists. You created it."

"How?" the intense scrutiny is back, but to her relief, he doesn't seem to be angry or frightened, just curious.

She decides to be forthright and hope for the best.

"In your mind."

Anakin turns away from her, seeming to think about what she's saying.

He tugs on his braid, completely lost in thought.

Then, "I don't remember creating this. The last thing I remember, I was with Master Obi Wan... he made a joke..."

Blue eyes search her face.

"Are you part of my mind too? All those places I remember... somehow... but you... I don't remember you."

"Your memories are fragmented, some are inaccessible for now. But no, you didn't conjure me up. I'm here, the same as you."

"Why? What could have happened to me that made this happen?"

She knows he's confused, and her sense of such things tells her that he's feeling weaker than he did a moment ago.

This worries her a great deal actually, but she doesn't let him see it.

The last thing she needs is for him to panic.

She nods to his bowl of fruit.

"Eat up. We'll take a walk when you're done and I'll explain more. But I warn you; you're not going to like it."

He doesn't budge.

She resists the urge to sigh.

"I know you have questions, Ani. But you're also tired and hungry. And doesn't Obi Wan keep telling you than you can think more clearly when you've had a little something?"

"How do you know..."

"I'm a friend. Now, eat your fruit, and we'll take that walk."

She leaves him alone with his thoughts, wanting to answer all his questions; wanting to make this easier for him.

Even though she knows she can't. Not yet.

But the time will come.

**PPPPPPPPPPPPP**

**I know things may seem to be moving a bit slow for now, and things are still a bit mysterious, but I have a pretty good idea where I'm going with this.:) As always, constructive reviews are always welcome.**


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